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Exodus From Genesis
(US); (UK) | Production =10103 | Writer =Ro Hume | Director =Brian Henson | Guests =Damian de Montemas (Melkor), Jodie Dry (Kyona) | Episode list = | Prev =I, E.T. | Next =Throne For a Loss }} Aeryn Sun is getting hot. John Crichton is on a steep learning curve and Peacekeepers start seeing double or triple. Synopsis Rygel paints a self-portrait without much success. Meanwhile, all John Crichton wants is to brush his teeth. Ka D'Argo's answer is to cram something called a "dentic" into John's mouth. The little Witchetty grub-like creature eats food debris and, to John's surprise, leaves a 'kind of minty' aftertaste. John is just coming to terms with this latest surprise when Moya lurches to an abrupt halt near what looks like asteroid debris. On the far side of the debris, a Peacekeeper scout ship called a 'Marauder' scans the debris but Moya is hidden from view. Crichton learns that Moya can outrun a Marauder but cannot outrun a command carrier. If Moya is spotted then Crais will inevitably come after them. Momentarily the Marauder ceases scanning and moves off but whilst the crew's attention has been focused on this threat, something else entirely has found its way onto the Leviathan. A little later. Aeryn is working in a maintenance bay. She tells Crichton they were lucky to avoid the Marauder, demonstrating the search pattern Peacekeepers use by drawing a diagram on the floor. John says no one wants to be in this situation and suggests that since they are all stuck together then they might as well try to get along. Aeryn replies dryly that what could she ever need from him? John makes a few unhelpful suggestions under his breath. Aeryn is proving to be hard to get along with because she thinks that she is superior to the others aboard Moya. Rygel's quarters are in a mess after Moya's sudden stop but Zhaan helps him clean up. She sees Rygel's self-portrait and to cheer him up, she uses Rygel's paints to produce a 'spirit painting' of the Dominar. Rygel is pleased. The painting is reminiscent of his ancestor, Rygel I, whom he admired. But unknown to Moya's crew there are eyes watching them as they go about their business. Aeryn gets irritated. She doesn't like the heat. John checks a control panel and confirms that the temperature is rising but Pilot is having trouble locating the source of the problem. As she bends down to pick up a tool, Aeryn gets pricked in the hand and, assuming it is just a metal splinter, pulls it out and tosses it away. But as she and Crichton leave the maintenance bay, a long, thin alien limb reaches out to collect the discarded splinter. In Command, Aeryn and D'Argo attempt to locate the problem with Moya's thermal fluctuations and discover that there is a blockage in the vents preventing heat discharge into space. Aeryn suggests the congelation coils, but the temperature continues to rise. Frustrated, Aeryn says she'll do it herself. Meanwhile, on another tier, Crichton is trying in vain to close a valve. As Zhaan arrives to help, John confides in her that no matter what he does D'Argo and Aeryn still think he is useless. Zhaan says they are soldiers. John should try to win their respect with action. That's what they understand. John takes her advice to heart and returns to his quarters, just as another alien limb is removing strands of hair from his comb. Alerted by something behind him, John spins around to see a strange creature, which looks like a demonic version of Moya's DRDs. After a short struggle, John manages to capture the creature in a sheet, kills it, and takes it to Zhaan who discovers the creature has Crichton's DNA, much to John's disbelief. The crew then discovers an internal door on Moya is sealed with a blue-coloured compound that defies D'Argo's attempts to break through. Aeryn is becoming agitated and losing concentration. She confesses to John that she has Sebacean heat delirium. Crichton tries to console her by saying that they'll fix things. Aeryn doesn't seem that sure. Crichton comes across Zhaan, down a corridor, interfering with a regulator valve and when he tries to stop her, she attacks him then vomits a stream of the blue-coloured sealant over the valve. Worse still as John reaches Command he finds Aeryn initiating a thermal increase and she too attacks John when he tries to stop her. They struggle and as Aeryn pulls away, Crichton unintentionally rips her arm off and Aeryn lets out a strange wailing cry just as the real Aeryn enters Command. Realising the Zhaan who attacked him was also a duplicate, Crichton gets the crew together in Command and suggests they find a way to differentiate themselves from their doubles. D'Argo's idea is to each cut off a little finger but Crichton suggests something less permanent. He marks the back of his hand with a dab of paint. However, Aeryn can't concentrate and is beginning to lose her memory. She says she will go help Pilot, who tries his best to help her but his efforts only manage a small decrease in temperature. Aeryn is nonetheless grateful. As the rest of the crew search for their copies, Rygel discovers a nest, hidden deep within Moya and witnesses one of the creatures emerge from a cocoon. Zhaan makes a discovery too - a substance that will dissolve the sealant but is quickly attacked by one of the creatures that fires a dart into her neck. Aeryn is slowly succumbing to the heat delirium and no one can raise Rygel on the comms. John comes across his duplicate, which mimics the dab of paint on Crichton's hand and attacks him. John beats his replica and in doing so learns that the duplicates can't speak. He warns D'Argo that they also know about the paint dabs. Aeryn's condition worsens. Rygel comms the others, telling them of more duplicates being created. Shortly afterwards Zhaan arrives in Command and addresses the others in a strange tone. She identifies herself as the Monarch of the Drak and threatens to kill Moya's crew for interfering with the Drak's 'Genesis' or birthing cycle. D'Argo's reaction is to ready his weapon but Crichton persuades him to hold off as he tries to communicate with the Monarch. He learns that the Drak live in cold space but need heat to birth their young, before returning to space. The Monarch says that only half the young have been born so far but now she needs to raise the temperature even higher. Concerned for Aeryn's safety, Crichton comes to an arrangement with the Monarch. Moya's crew will remain in one room and allow Genesis to be completed sooner. If all goes well then Aeryn should not suffer any long-term problems. But things never go smoothly for Moya's crew. As they remain locked in a chamber, the Marauder returns and boards Moya, alerting the Draks. Peacekeeper Commandos search the ship and kill a duplicate D'Argo, alerting Pilot who quickly warns the crew. The Commandos kill another D'Argo and a duplicate Zhaan. John persuades the Monarch the crew is not to blame but D'Argo wants to fight the Commandos. Aeryn is sinking fast; she can feel the 'Living Death' approach and tells John he must promise to kill her before the end comes. Elsewhere on the ship, the PK Commandos are also feeling the heat and tempers are getting frayed! Rygel is stuck. He daren't move for fear of being spotted by the Draks but Zhaan needs him to speak to the Monarch in person. At first he refuses but when Zhaan asks him what his ancestor, Rygel I, would have done in his place, Rygel feels shamed into helping. He bravely speaks up and is granted an audience inside the vast Drak nest. For a while Moya's crew hears nothing from him and fear he has been killed but when Zhaan's residual link with the Monarch is suddenly reactivated they learn that the Monarch and Rygel have struck a deal. As the Commandos find and kill a Crichton replica then a Drak, Zhaan feels the Monarch's pain. Crichton has an idea how to defeat the Commandos. He asks Aeryn to hold on a while longer than persuades the Monarch to raise the temperature even higher and allow Moya's crew to go free. D'Argo plays dead and ambushes a straggling Commando. Whilst Zhaan tries to cool Aeryn with a shower, the rest of the heat-weary Commandos barely make it to Command. Crichton appears, in duplicate, further disorientating the Peacekeepers, one of whom attacks the real Crichton and holds a knife to his throat, prompting D'Argo to put a rifle to the Commando's head but John tells D'Argo to back off, this is his turn. John can see the confusion in the Commando's eyes and uses it to his advantage, convincing the soldier that if he kills him then another Crichton will take his place, then another and so on. He tells the Commando to tell Crais what he witnessed and to let Crais know that he picked the wrong species to mess with. The bluff works. The Commandos know they are beaten and begrudgingly leave Moya. As Moya's DRDs busily clean up, D'Argo acknowledges Crichton's actions but says that risking Aeryn's life was a gamble. John adds that although there is little chance of it, he hopes Crais will leave them alone. Pilot reports the temperature is back to optimum and after the Draks have left Moya, the Monarch makes a final connection with Zhaan to thank the crew, and Rygel in particular (Monarch to Dominar), for helping 'Genesis' to be completed. A little later as Crichton helps Zhaan to her quarters, she says he did well and compliments John on his actions. She counsels patience and assures John that he will get the hang of things in time. John leaves Zhaan to rest then wanders up to Moya's viewing deck, where Aeryn is alone. He asks how she is and she shows him a steady hand as proof that she is better than makes a cryptic comment to John about how she used to think lesser life forms should be squashed but now she knows better. Crichton realises she is referring to him. Aeryn wonders if John could have kept his promise to kill her before the living death had taken hold but his only comment is that things could have been a lot worse. The two of them then stand quietly, watching the migration of the Drak - a beautiful swirl of oranges and browns that spirals away across deep space. Memorable quotes * :Aeryn: I'm sure your world has no force so ruthless... so disciplined. :John: We call them linebackers... or serial killers. Depends on whether they're professional or amateur. * :John: It's just you and me. :D'Argo: Actually, it is just me... and you. Background information * Until the miniseries, this was the only episode directed by Brian Henson. He deliberately brought a different feel to the shooting from "Premiere", which was being shot at the same time. ( ) * Ro Hume originally called the Drak queen a "sultana," a word often used as "sultan's wife" in North America, but Virginia Hey pointed out that it referred to a raisin in Australia. ( ; Farscape: The Illustrated Companion) * The show was designed as a "bottle show," one that takes place entirely on Moya. (Farscape: The Illustrated Companion) * This was the first script not written by Rockne S. O'Bannon or David Kemper. O'Bannon commented "Unfortunately, the writer just didn't get it, so David and I took it over, and we both did a pass. It was the early days of the show. It was an early episode that was fairly experimental, and there were things that we really liked and things we learned from." ( ) * Virginia Hey used her own voice, albeit digitally altered, when she was possessed by the Queen. ( ; Farscape: The Illustrated Companion) * The title refers to the first two books of the Bible, but is also a pun about escaping the Drak spawning process. ( ) * John's reference to Animal House was originally excluded from the U.S. airing, only making it into the European version. ( ) * Ben Browder did not actually swallow the dentic. ( ) * Kemper suggested, jokingly, that the dentics might return in the second season and be like scorpions with poisonous tails. ( ) * The episode featured the first appearance of a CG version of Rygel. Graham Binding was the main animator for Rygel and had to constantly update the model to match the puppet. Paul Butterworth stated that "the big problem we noticed over time was Rygel evolved. His face and his skin slightly changed. Every time they made a different puppet it would be painted slightly differently. So whenever we used the 3D Rygel, he had to be re-tweaked and rematched to match the live action Rygel. He ended up with his own little department, recreating him every time." ( ) * The CGI version of Rygel was used to show him walking for the only time in the series. Brian Henson noted that this was not repeated due to its cost. (Farscape Minisodes) * Like many of the early episodes, extra scenes were shot for the European market to increase the running time. O'Bannon explained "those additional scenes had to fit into the story but they couldn't be germane. It never worked out as mathematically precise as we had hoped. Then, there were other scenes that were written for the regular show that ended up only in the European version. It was mix and match. In the end, we came up with a standardized length." ) * The terrace set was only used in this episode because it caused considerable filming problems. ( ) * The Draks were expensive to create and a lot of post-production wire removal had to be done. ( ) * This is the only time Peacekeepers were seen with tattoos. ( ) * This episode continually uses the terms 'hours' as opposed to the already established 'arns'. Links and references Starring * Ben Browder as John Crichton * Claudia Black as Aeryn Sun * Virginia Hey as Zotoh Zhaan * Anthony Simcoe as Ka D'Argo Guest cast * Damian de Montemas as Melkor * Jodie Dry as Kyona Puppeteers * John Eccleston ;with * Sean Masterson * Dave Collins * Graeme Haddon * Tim Mieville * Mario Halouvas * Damian Bradford Voice artists * Jonathan Hardy as Rygel * Lani Tupu as Pilot * Cameron Smith Uncredited co-stars * Geoff Barker as PK Commando #3 * Kate Kendall as Sergeant * Chenoeh Miller as PK Commando #4 * Tai Scrivener as PK Commando #5 References Advance pattern Decca; Billean yard rat; climate regulator; Command; Command carrier; comms; congelation coil; consumables refrigeration unit; Crais, Bialar; Cray-spun Shimmer Weave; crosshatch star pattern; dentic; Dominar; drak; DRD; fa-pu-ta; fraternity; hazing; heat delirium; hetch; human; Hynerian; Hynerian Empire; ion backwash chamber; JFK High; Living Death; Luxan; Marauder; Marx, Eddie; Monarch of the Drak; Moya; Moya's terrace; Peacekeeper; Peacekeeper Special Operations; prism laser saw; Rygel I; Sebacean; spirit painting; squag; translator microbe; yotz Crichtonisms Animal House; Hyundai; linebacker; Ouija board; serial killer; stock market; toothpaste; warranty; Xerox; External link * Category:Season 1 episodes